Jilly

I think Joe’s right, slippers are the way forward. I’ve got one of those, but without the sneaky castors) and hate to go near it in bare feet as it’s just too clunky…

Does it pop up once you have freed it, to make twin beds, or does it stay low on the floor?

I sleep with a wet/damp flannel on my shoulder/side.

You can apply for an EPC exemption with old properties.

It's worth learning as much as you can and keeping your eye on the ball. If something looks wrong, it very often is, so ask questions. You'd be amazed at the little things that can go wrong every day. Daily checking and course correction can mitigate a lot.

Agree with the the other person about not making the au pair feel second class: give them a nice space/view/privacy with the same standard of luxury as you are fitting the rest of the house with. Helping them feel welcome and appreciated will hopefully start you off well, in what is a complex relationship.

Welcome! As your planning permission has expired, it would be wise to check with your local authority if it comes under 'Permitted Development' or if you have to submit another application. It gives you a chance to tweak the drawings to something you like. You will need to also submit building regs drawings and will need a structural engineer to design the foundations etc and they will need the soil surveys for that. Hopefully they will be happy with what has been done, but in theory could ask for more.

It's a conversion, so no SAP calcs, just @SteamyTea's advice that you need loads more insulation than you think under ufh. No, I think it's worked, the hose is warm and pretty cheap to heat. On LPG at the moment but 'heat pump ready'. I think the UFH egg boxes might reduce efficiency too, so we used staples.

We could only get 100mm in, which is insufficient really and why I chose to use it, hoping it would have better performance than 100mm PIR (or EPS). Incidentally, I also researched a lot before coming to a view, and decided to use slate tiles, rather than engineered wood to improve the heat transfer. I even chanced not using decoupling mats, as the plumber thought it would reduce the efficiency of the floor, which made sense to me. We used good quality expansion joints at the door thresholds and don't heat the floor over 35 degrees and I was ultra cautious about turning it on at all in the beginning.

We used it as above. Works fine, am really pleased with the floor's performance.

I found the process incredibly stressful and thought the architect was expensive and decided to PM myself. I saved money on the swings and then wasted loads through inexperience and time on the roundabouts. I wished I'd stayed with my original architect, but as people have pointed out, you don't know what you don't know. Many of us on are here overthinkers and every decision has ramifications. The right people, as in any business/work environment is key. Architect's fees are often a fixed % of the build (no incentive to cost control!). Many people go over budget.

I found the process incredibly stressful and thought the architect was expensive and decided to PM myself. I saved money on the swings and then wasted loads through inexperience and time on the roundabouts. I wished I'd stayed with my original architect, but as people have pointed out, you don't know what you don't know. Many of us on are here overthinkers and every decision has ramifications. The right people, as in any business/work environment is key.

Lovely! What a fabulous view! Well done 👏

Or just to the left in the recess behind the fence?

My understanding is you need a 50mm ventilation gap above, the insulation if you have that build up. Presumably this why the architect is insisting? I have heard horror stories of condensation peeing out thru light fitting. Search back through previous posts

It depends how experienced you are. I learnt the hard way it's a bad idea to change to a cheaper architects technician for the BC drawings. Because he wasn't in the end, as there was no joined up thinking and it wasn't his baby, so plenty of expensive stuff ups, where I seemed to get the blame, through lack of experience. Hence getting proper construction drawings done would have been a very good idea... Oh, and that darned thing about everyone wanting to know how you want the kitchen and lights etc etc sooo far in advance. It IS important, even tho' it seems daft and there's plenty of time. Procrastination about this drives everyone mad, so make mock ups, scale models, whatever it takes to really imagine using the space and make as many decisions as you can. How ever hard you plan, there seems to always be a point where you walk on site and realise something won't work, and needs to be changed, you just got to hope its not too expensive...Ask me how I know.

A soakaway has to go 5m away from the building. You could look into some SuDS mitigation but that's a palaver in itself and I didn't find my BC knew much about it.

Your structural engineer would decide usually, but you are right, on clay and near trees trees, piling is likely to be required. Get several quotes as they can vary wildly. I used a firm owned by an SE and he provided the calculations for Building Control. I would speak to an SE before the soil survey.

This looks useful: https://magic.defra.gov.uk

You might need piles. Get different quotes tho’ because they can differ wildly. Maybe be certain of your planning permission, presumed permitted development rights before you go too far?

Another way to save money: is there some way you can get yourselves back into the house safely? Slum it in a caravan on the drive? (make it an exciting adventure for your child?) Paying rent on top of trying to save up is one step forward, 2 steps back

Yes back on track to popular delusions.

I’d want that lovely clay plaster everywhere for its texture and hippy benefits. I like to be a bit arty, but have found that unless you really know what you are doing, you have to check you don’t stray into comedy…

I'm not sure it matters for a one off 'custom builds' as they call self builders. As you have outline planning, you should be fine, it will be a matter of agreeing the design and conditions. I believe the 'affordable housing' refers to large scale housing developments where the developers have to put in a few smaller 'affordable' properties in addition to the obligatory executive homes.

Just musing. Is this a thing? Possible? The house overheats in summer due to solar gain. Is it possible to harvest the heated ufh water from the warm slab when the ASHP is in (reverse) cooling mode for domestic hot water when I eventually get round to installing a heat pump? Apologies to @SteamyTea for the crappy grasp of physics I have LPG for the moment and have a pretty low bills, so will probably wait until the boiler expires before I change it, as the current system of opening windows in summer is bearable, and currently there is no space for a hot water tank. Any Heath Robinson suggestions...?